Accused in a "brazen scheme" to smuggle cocaine and methamphetamine on commercial planes

Baggage handlers to be arraigned for drug trafficking

San Diego  Eleven people, including four baggage handlers who worked at Lindbergh Field, are accused of taking part in a “brazen scheme” to smuggle cocaine and methamphetamine onto commercial planes for distribution in cities throughout the country, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.

They were indicted Friday by a federal grand jury following an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Narcotics Task Force that began more than a year ago. During the probe, agents seized 17 pounds of cocaine, 18 pounds of methamphetamine and more than $100,000 in cash, prosecutors said.

Some of the defendants are expected to be arraigned Tuesday in federal court. They are accused of conspiring to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

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The case is believed to be the first federal drug prosecution of airport employees at Lindbergh Field, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said in a statement.

According to the indictment, the baggage handlers were current or former employees of Delta Global Services, which provides ground services for several airlines. The company is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Wheat.

Three of the handlers were identified as Paulo Mendez Perez, 36, and Felix Samuel Garcia, 29, both of Imperial Beach; and Saul Bojorquez Aviles, 26, of Chula Vista. ﻿They had badges that allowed them to go into passenger areas beyond Transportation Security Administration screening without being searched, prosecutors said.

They are accused of walking through checkpoints with drugs in backpacks, then going to restrooms beyond the security area, where the contraband would be slid under a stall’s divider to waiting couriers, who were ticketed passengers.

“This was a brazen scheme to smuggle drugs right under the noses of airport security officials,” Duffy said. “We aren’t going to let dangerous drugs fly in unchecked bags in the overhead bins of commercial aircraft.”

Another handler, Brian Alberto Gonzalez, 30, of San Diego, allegedly worked as a courier, a federal complaint said.

The couriers took flights to locations including New York City, Nashville, Tenn., Detroit, Baltimore and Hawaii, where they would meet with members of the drug trafficking organization, prosecutors said.

According to the complaint, the trips included flights on Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and US Airways.

In Hawaii, the drugs could be sold for a hefty profit, Wheat said. While the street price of a pound of methamphetamine is about $5,000 in San Diego, it would sell for about $25,000 a pound in Hawaii, where it is harder to obtain, Wheat said.

Airport spokeswoman Diana Lucero said the Airport Authority was aware of the investigation and cooperated with the probe. She referred all questions about security screening procedures to TSA, including whether the investigation will prompt a review of security measures for baggage handlers or any changes in procedures.

Calls and emails to the TSA were not immediately answered.

Lucero said baggage handlers are subject to 10-year background checks, including an FBI fingerprint check, a security-threat assessment by the TSA and random reference investigations by the Airport Authority.